Looking For Rain
by Beckon
Summary: Sometimes she liked to fool herself into thinking he could control the storms. At least that way they didn't seem so terrifying.


**A/N: It seems, as of lately, I've suddenly formed the idea of this couple and I've gotten attached to them now. Again, I have a lot of couple variations and sometimes I just like to see where I can take it. I probably shouldn't have tried to type them after being incredibly sleep-deprived after suffering through twenty-one hours completely awake to complete a school project, but I needed something to do when I had to wait four hours to download a much-needed program. And this is where this story came from. **

_I look for the sun but it's raining today…_

The soft pitter-patter of rain lightly echoed through her small room as the raindrops bounced themselves off her window sill; sending clouded, gray shadows to create eerie figures across her slightly cluttered floor. Eerie shapes seemed to reach out towards her and barely grace the outer layer of her skin; barely able to touch her with the cold, gripping fingertips that seemed to poison themselves freely with every embrace of water droplets against her window.

She always hated how she seemed to act so childish about storms like this; it wasn't like they really posed any threat to her, it wasn't like they could crash into her room and attack her. But still, something about the thunder and rain always seemed startling to her. She remembered childhood memories of crying in the middle of the night because of the storms; she thought she would have outgrown that by now. Perhaps not but… at least she didn't have to embarrass herself with running to someone for comfort. At least that much she had outgrown.

Or at least for the nights when he wasn't with her.

He used to remark that it wasn't a gentleman's place to be in a lady's room after dark; especially if such gentleman and lady weren't entirely… together in a sense. But that had been how he reacted a long time ago… now… well, he had spent several evenings after dark in her room. She always enjoyed the cool temperature of his skin while he remarked that the heat of her hands was always welcoming. During such storms as this, she loved feeling the way her body seemed to fit easily next to his; listening to the joining beats of the thunder outside and the heart in his chest; it always seemed like the two were connected in some sense… as though the thunder only occurred with every other heartbeat. Sometimes she liked to fool herself into thinking he could control the storms. At least that way they didn't seem so terrifying.

They seemed far more comforting then.

A brief sigh escaped her as she eventually tossed aside her heated blankets and ventured into the alluring shadows around her; minding her steps so not to provoke a squeak from the hardwood floors beneath her feet. Slowly, she ushered her way towards the well-leveled window on the other end of her room; peeking out into the dark hazy mess outside. The blurred glass made it difficult to see details but the whipping of trees and the whirlwind of loose matter everywhere only seemed to push the stormy mess even further. A bolt of lightning tore its way across the sky and highlighted every frightening aspect that made the storm perfect for what it was.

Fingertips pressed themselves against the chilling glass as she continued to stand before the messy show. Not entirely convincing of herself as to why she did it… as though the only answer to that was just to merely watch; hoping that somewhere out there he was going to appear. He could calm this easily for her sake but… perhaps the storm wasn't so bad.

After all, wherever there was a storm, it only meant he was nearby or he would be coming home soon.

It was that, that she was looking forward to.

**X**

_You know I can't go through the darkness without your light…_

In the near pitch darkness of the storm, he kept steady count of the number of people who moved on past him; eyes moving from one figure to the next as the numbers continued to count higher and higher in his mind. There were plenty of whispered hesitations and rushed words as the thunder seemed to growl louder and louder with every passing minute. And while everyone tried not to panic, he tried not to seem all too relaxed with the atmosphere; the cold embrace of rain against his skin and the pulse of blood that rushed through him with every crack of thunder and every dangerously-close bolt of lightning. It was moments like these that he lived for.

But with every passing minute, the storm was drawing closer and becoming deadlier by the minute. The sole threat and drawing force behind it was still off in the distance but their evacuation methods would hopefully finish off before that comforting length of space was cut short. Normally they didn't suffer terrible storms such as this but… in the past few days it had caused severe damages and a small number of causalities; at first it wasn't much to worry for but now… well they were out here in the midst of it trying to move people along and get them to safety. He had heard a few of the others remark that doing such wasn't entirely in their job descriptions but they took these positions to protect the Society; sometimes it wasn't just physical forms that were always the threats. As long as he could get these people to safety and avoid further casualties… well then this was a job well done. At least he could hold some kind of pride in that.

A crack of lightning seemed to strike far too close and he caught the visible, unstable bolt become the only connection between the ground and the sky; another sharp 'popping' noise erupted as the bolt seemed to have split a tree clean in half as well as start a small spark of fire. Eyes watched through the darkness as several other Division members rushed to get it put out when even the thick slate of rain coming down on top of them didn't seem strong enough.

The uncontrollable rush of fire seemed to be whipped about in the harsh winds that seemed all the more hurried to spread its flame; hopefully the ground would be too heavy with water to retain a light.

In that one, possibly split-second of a moment… he caught himself wondering what she was up to. She was never one for storms, especially ones of this magnitude… he wondered if she found someone to stay with her or if she was trying to press through it by herself. She always used to comment that storms frightened her by how unstable and drastic they could be, with how they could change in a blink of an eye and report damages that seemed far too extensive for something that consisted of just water and air; for something that consisted of sharp bursts of energy and sudden collapses of air pockets.

He told her it was never that dramatic.

Not to mention she was the one who held fire and what could be more unstable than that?

He hoped soon enough that this evacuation would be completed early and that the second wave of Division members would take it from there and allow for them to return for the momentary rest. And as tempting as the thought of being surrounded by the sheer warmth of sleep… he didn't entirely want it.

When this was over, he wanted to see her, even if it was just for a few short moments.

**X**

Hands pulled together the front of her robe as she carried herself down the long winding corridors that rested just outside of her bedroom door; following the light rapping of knuckles against the Division House door and trying not to mistaken it for another tree being forced against the siding again. She had already fallen for that once before and then had proceeded to be scared effortlessly when one of the branches broke their way through a window in one of the lounging rooms; she would have to see to its repair later when under safer conditions.

The darkness seemed to follow her as she pushed herself step after step until she lightly peeked into the main room; waiting and listening for another sound, which answered her just seconds later. Okay, so unless trees figured out a way to grow legs and knock on doors, then she was safe. That is unless this was for their own kind of emergency evacuation, in which case safety was far from here.

Hands moved to gently lift the locks from the door before she pulled it open, almost not even having to see who was on the other side before she stepped away to allow them room to get inside. "You're absolutely drenching." she started. "Couldn't you have brought an umbrella or something with you?"

"I did at first, and then the wind turned it inside out and ripped it in half." he answered as he tried not to gather too much water on her Division floor.

"You must be freezing."

"After a few hours out there, you kind of stop feeling it."

She narrowed her eyes lightly at the remark before the gesture was quickly followed by the light shake of her head. His white hair that was usually slicked back seemed to somehow remain in such posture even despite the heaviness of the rainwater that seemed relentless in drenching every inch of him. The black material of his uniform seemed to had progressed to a shade two times darker as it half seemed to both cling and hang off of his form; the white, hand-sewn jacket he wore over it was darker just the same as the heavier material was able to resist turning to the tempting transparent shade instead. She had no doubt that he was enjoying this more than anyone else humanly could; this was his element after all- moments like this is what he lived for.

"Here, let me go get you a few towels-"

"That's quite alright." he started; stopping himself when he caught that skeptic sense of frustration in her eyes. Her black hair, normally pulled back and covered, was let down to drape somewhere between her chin and shoulders as the messy, disheveled strands seemed to do little to annoy her at this given moment. Her hands were tightly locked at the center of the pale-pink robe that was tied around her slender body; although the slight slip on one shoulder revealed the tanned skin underneath. Despite her short size and small stature… when she got herself worked up, she was her own little storm to handle. "… I suppose it would be rude of me to reject such generosity…"

She smirked lightly at his sudden change of mind and finally let her hands fall to her narrow hips. "That's what I thought. I think I might have some spare uniforms I could look around in, there might be one your size."

While he would have preferred to decline her offer once more… she already had him trapped and the only way out was her way. A light chuckle escaped him as he watched her eventually shuffle her way back out into the adjacent corridor. "Is this as bad as it's been so far?"

"It was a little worse earlier with the wind." she called back to him as she tried to maneuver her way down the hallway just a few more feet as fingertips trailed along the wall beside her; eventually bumping into the doorframe that she needed to locate. "We got a tree knocked in through one of the windows in one of the spare rooms; I'll have to look into getting it replaced as soon as this mess is over with. How bad is it outside of here?"

"They're coming up to the eye of it." he answered as fingers gently peeled the white jacket from his shoulders; folding it somewhat awkwardly as the heavy material seemed to refuse to give way in any kind of rolled method. "A few fires started here or there but we managed to get everyone out in time; hopefully the brute of this thing won't be hitting for awhile so people can get settled in to the designated safety zones."

She nodded faintly with his words even when she was out of sight as she ruffled her way through the packed storage closet in front of her; blindly pulling out a few pieces of materials here or there. She had a few rolled towels stuffed into one arm while the other had a slightly rumpled uniform folded over it; she was hoping it was big enough for him, it seemed like it should be but she wasn't entirely the best person at picking out uniform sizes. "I hope it doesn't hit at all. The thought of it all just terrifies me." she remarked as she eventually edged the door back closed with her hip before she started back down the hallway and into the opening room. "Which is why I'm glad you're here now."

"I can't say that I can promise much, this storm is far out of my league." he remarked. "I don't believe we've had one of this kind of magnitude come raging through here before. All in all, I find it quite magnificent to witness."

"Yes but then again you're the kind of guy who would stand outside and watch it roll on in and then ease back out." she reminded as she pushed the folded towels against him before she took the white jacket from his arm. "I'll hang this up some place… dry, if I can find one. And I don't know if that uniform will be in your size but if not… well you still have towels."

"Hinamori, that is not a lady-like thing to say." he scolded playfully.

"Yes well, you're not getting into my bed if you're drenched like that." she teased with another soft smirk that played with the curve of her lips. "When you're done getting undressed, you'll know where to find me."


End file.
